This invention relates to smoking articles such as cigarettes, and in particular to the cut filler of such smoking articles.
Popular smoking articles such as cigarettes have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure and include a change of smokable material such as shredded tobacco, processed tobacco and/or reconstituted tobacco (e.g., cut filler) surrounded by a wrapper such as paper thereby forming a tobacco rod. It has become desirable to manufacture cigarettes having cylindrical filter elements aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, filters are manufactured from fibrous materials such as cellulose acetate and are attached to the tobacco rod using a circumscribing tipping material.
Various types of tobaccos and other materials can be blended together to form the cut filler of a cigarette. Generally, various amounts of flue-cured, Burley, Maryland and Oriental tobaccos are blended together and ultimately form cut filler. A typical blend also can include reconstituted tobacco material, volume expanded processed tobacco, cut rolled stems, tobacco substitutes, and other such materials. The cut filler frequently is treated with additives such as humectants, casing (e.g., alcoholic solutions of sugars) and top dressing (e.g., alcoholic solutions of aromatic substances and flavorants). See British Pat. No. 910,451 to Davis.
Generally, the relatively large amounts of the respective blend components as well as the conventional techniques for providing casings and top dressings provide for blends which are relatively uniform. For this reason, it is possible for the manufacturer of cigarettes to produce large quantities of cigarettes as well as maintaining good quality control (i.e., the uniformity of the blends allow for the manufacture of cigarettes each of which exhibit similar taste characteristics). In addition, the uniformity of a blend provides the ability of the cigarette to exhibit a certain controlled taste characteristic from puff-to-puff during use.
Various so called "rare" and "specialty" tobaccos are available. Such tobaccos exhibit unique, distinctive, rich and flavorful taste characteristics to a cigarette when employed as cut filler in the smoking article. Examples of such tobaccos include the so called dark fired, latakia, perique, Northern Wisconsin, soakum, galpoa, Pennsylvania fermented and Green River tobaccos. Due to the unique taste characteristics of such tobaccos, it would be desirable to incorporate certain amounts of such tobaccos into cut filler for cigarettes.
Unfortunately, many of the rare or specialty tobaccos are expensive. Thus, it is desirable to incorporate small amounts of such tobaccos into a blend. In addition, the unique taste characteristics provided by such tobaccos require that such tobaccos be employed as relatively small amounts within a blend.
The rare or specialty tobaccos can be processed to have a form of cut filler. Such a form may not be highly desirable in those situations where the rare or specialty tobacco is employed in small amounts. In particular, small amounts of the rare or specialty tobacco cut filler within a blend may yield a cigarette which does not provide the unique taste of the particular tobacco type during certain puffs, while providing an overwhelming taste during other puffs.
It would be desirable to provide an efficient and effective manner or method for incorporating small amounts of rare or specialty tobaccos into a cigarette cut filler blend.